Hi, I'm currently manually creating manuals in InDesign CC by placing files in the correct order. These files can be InDesign, Illustrator, PDF, CAD drawings, Excel files etc. I really want to automate this process with XML. I've started by adding tags to the files & then exporting to XML. I've never used XML before & have searched through numerous websites but struggling to find the absolute basics on where to start writing the script to open a new document, place a text & image frame & then associate the files to the frames. Please can anybody help me get started? #XML

Could your reprecise the context because it's not cristal clear to me. Basically You want to automatically lay out external files inside an indesign document, am I right ?

If so, you could probably get this without any line of scripting with a bit of xml layout preparation inside indesign. However if you want to go scripting, you may as well achieve this without any xml at all (or using it conveniently).

XML import should work without any additional plugin. Once that said the learning curve may be tough. If you can afford it, I would recommend a plugin such as EasyCatalog because it's easy, efficient and smooth.

If you still want to go on the xml road, you may want to read the Bible of InDesign XML import: